


Molly O'Brien

by every1isgay



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Future, Changelings, Curiosity, Family, Feels, Goodbyes, Hopeful Ending, Kira-centric, Other, POV First Person, POV Molly O'Brien, Post-Canon Fix-It, Science, Vulcan Science Academy (Star Trek)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-02
Updated: 2020-02-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 18:34:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22520302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/every1isgay/pseuds/every1isgay
Summary: ~ Set many years after the ending of Deep Space Nine. ~Molly O’Brien has grown up and become a scientist. In fact, she has been accepted to study at the Vulcan Science Institute. Before she heads to her new posting, though, she decides to go back and visit her old home, just off of Bajor. She has something strange to share with the new commander of Deep Space Nine.
Relationships: Julian Bashir/Ezri Dax, Keiko O'Brien/Miles O'Brien, Kira Nerys/Odo
Comments: 2
Kudos: 20





	Molly O'Brien

**Author's Note:**

> written by Natasha

I remembered a lot more about the war than I let on. It’s not something we talked about a lot anymore, because it has been so long, and we are happy on Earth now. My brother Yoshi was just a baby, of course, and had no memories of Deep Space Nine at all. But I did. I remembered that place I had once called home and I remembered the people who lived there.

That’s why I wanted to visit after graduation. I had an offer from the Vulcan Science Academy to pursue my research at their facilities. It was a huge honor for a brand-new geneticist, and I accepted, of course. After a short detour to Deep Space Nine.

I wasn’t sure what I expected, really. Dad had respected my wishes; he had wanted to come with me, but he was letting me go alone. Mom couldn’t understand at all. “Even if you remember how it was, Molly, it won’t be the same now. It’s been fifteen years since you’ve been there!” Luckily, Yoshi was getting ready to head off to Starfleet Academy, and that distracted my parents enough. So it was that I eventually stepped off my transport into a familiar, alien world.

I walked slowly through the promenade first. I had not remembered how stark the Cardassian architecture made the station. My memories were always fond ones, even through those years of war. I smiled to see so many Bajoran faces, though. These were the kind faces of my childhood. The wrinkled noses, the simple clothing, the earrings…

The shopkeepers were selling their wares loudly as I glided through the mass unnoticed. Some part of me wanted it this way. That’s why I had asked Dad not to tell anyone I was coming. Of course, Dr. Bashir would be waiting for me. He was the only one who knew.

Dad’s best friend had stayed very close to him, even though they did not speak often anymore. I had not seen him for seven years, when he last visited Earth with his whole family: Ezri, his wife, and their two children Benji and Crista. I took a deep breath, standing before their door - this part was more for Dad than me. Then I reached out and touched the padd.

The door slid open almost instantly and Ezri Dax stood there with a welcoming smile. “Molly! I’m so glad to see you! Come on in.” I stepped through the doorway while she looked me over. “You’re so grown up! And about to take your place among the Vulcan scientists. Congratulations!”

“Thank you,” I said, and meant it. I had worked hard for my place there. I glanced around the room as she took my bag. The room was empty. “Is anyone here?” I asked hesitantly.

“You just missed Julian. He was called to the infirmary. But the kids should be…” She trailed off as she turned towards the hallway leading to the rest of their quarters. “Benjamin Bashir, get back out here! I told you, I want you to meet Molly.” Slowly, a young boy came out of one of the side rooms. He met my eyes and then blushed, staring determinedly at the floor. He was eleven, if I remembered correctly, and he looked just like his mom.

I smiled and held out my hand to him. “Hi, I’m Molly. Our dads have always been very good friends. I met you a long time ago on Earth when you were little.”

The boy took my hand and shook it but then took a step back. “I’m Benji,” he said quietly. I glanced at Ezri, but that was just when a little girl trotted up. 

“I’m Crista, and I am excited to meet you! Benji’s just shy, or he would say so too.” She held out her hand with a big smile. I took it firmly and mirrored her smile. Crista was nine and she had the look of her father, though she retained her mother’s spots and upturned nose. 

Before long, I found myself relaxing and fitting in easily with the small family. Then, Dr. Bashir returned soon after to ask all about my parents and Yoshi.

It was not for another couple hours that I broached the subject that was burning at me. I needed Dr. Bashir in order to gain access to Ops. He agreed, but not before he shot his wife a look as if he were only humoring a child. Despite his reluctance, he escorted me through the station to Ops immediately.

~

“Come in,” the female voice said when we made it to her office. The door opened and I stepped in to see General Kira of the Bajoran militia or Captain Kira of Starfleet. Or, as I knew her, Auntie Nerys. I was shy, admittedly. It had been a long time since I had even heard from her. She looked very similar to the housemate of my memories, the woman who had borne my brother. Her hair was long now, and she wore it in a braid. It had some white in it, but not much. She certainly looked older, but she was just as beautiful. She had matured well, like my mother had.

I watched the surprise cross her face when she saw me and then she put down her datapad and stood up. “Molly.” Slowly, a smile from her broke the tension in my stance.

“I’ll leave you two alone,” Dr. Bashir said and backed out of the office. I stepped forward, into the now-open arms of my aunt and received a lasting hug.

“Hello, Auntie.”

She pulled away enough to see my face, but kept her hold on me. “What are you doing here, Molly? I thought you would be on your way to Vulcan.”

“I will be, soon. I just… wanted to visit.” I offered her a smile. It wasn’t my main reason, but it wasn’t untrue either.

She finally let go of me and walked back behind her desk. “It’s been a long time,” she acknowledged. I stared at this woman, the hero of Bajor and Cardassia. Maybe even the Federation and the whole Alpha Quadrant. She had certainly played her part. Aside from loving her as my aunt, I had always had a fierce fascination with her life story. Born into poverty on Occupied Bajor, she had become a Resistance Fighter while still a child. She had lost friends, family, and innocence. But she had freed her people. And then she had been given that task once more, when the Dominion came. Again, she fought with everything she had. Again, she lost the people dear to her. But she never gave up, never lost her faith. Repeatedly, everyone she loved died or left. She had lost more in her life than I could imagine. But her passion, as far as I could tell, was undiminished.

I had lived most of my life in safety and security. I had yet to experience the death of someone close to me. Some part of me wondered how I would perform under pressure. Would I measure up to this woman? For now, I let myself be swept away in cheerful chatter.

“Molly,” she said later, after a pause in our conversation, “I sense there is something you are leaving out. Is there another reason you came here?”

I flushed red. I didn’t want to talk about it yet. I would have been happy to avoid this topic for a few days, but it seemed I had lost that option. I took a deep breath. “I’ve been studying genetics, as you know.” My aunt cocked a brow. “Well, to be honest, I have been focusing specifically on… on Changeling genetics.” She didn’t react at all. I wondered if it still bothered her. She had had loved after him, I knew. Odo, his name was. But nothing had lasted. She didn’t talk about him, not that I had heard, but she was still here, at Deep Space Nine. And she  _ had _ loved him. In my mind, perhaps slightly romanticized, I imagined that she waited for him to come back to her. He wasn’t dead, after all. It was a possibility.

“Go on,” she said, and I thought I heard something odd in her voice. Impatience, or anxiety, or maybe just sadness.

“I found it mesmerizing. Their genetic matrix is so malleable, its study could be considered an entirely new field. But with no specimen to study, we could only go so far in our research. Anyway, I recently had a chance to look at real information: Odo’s file. And I brought it with me.” I watched her expression, but she didn’t reveal much. She certainly looked guarded. “Well, they had a sample…”

“A sample?!” she interjected. This clearly was news to her.

“Just a small one,” I rushed to assure her. “Microscopic, really. It’s not like they could do anything with it. I mean, they thought they couldn’t anyway…” 

Just like that, her temper flared. I steeled myself. Her dark eyes burned darker and her fingers turned white on her desk. 

She didn’t say anything, though, so I rushed ahead. “It wasn’t Starfleet that did it. In fact, they don’t even know about it.”

“Did what?” she asked quietly, her tone iron. I was a little bit afraid.

“I activated it.” I bit my lip and stared at my lap. She was silent for a long time.

“Molly, why don’t you explain what you mean?”

I nodded and reluctantly looked up at her. “I was wondering how they reproduce. The cells aren’t actually…” I reminded myself that she wasn’t a scientist. Mom was always telling me to explain things in layman’s terms. I took a deep breath. “It was a simple trigger in the RNA, but it has to be done by an outside force. It seems Changelings physiologically cannot reproduce within their own race.” It was engrossing. An absolutely thrilling discovery, one I wanted to pursue. But I had kept it to myself, because this was personal for my aunt. It should be her decision. “I accidentally triggered it and I have the resulting sample with me. It –”

“Sample?” She interrupted hoarsely. “Do you mean baby? Are you telling me you have an infant changeling with you, Molly?”

“No, no, not like that!” I held up my hands defensively. “It’s not fertilized.” She clenched her jaw, and I saw that she was confused, but I wasn’t sure how much more to say right now. She seemed calmer, but not by much.

“Show me,” she said finally. Slowly, I reached into my pocket. I kept it there, on my person, to keep it safe. And secret, for now. I pulled out a small tube of golden goo. The amount had doubled, to my shock. It had grown on Earth, but only gradually. My aunt’s eyes were wide as she snatched the tube from me.

It was as if she recognized it. It was as if she knew what she was doing, as if she had done this before. I watched her move without hesitation, opening up the tube, ignoring my stammered protest. She poured it into her cupped hand and we both watched, astonished, as it sank into her flesh and disappeared.

Very slowly, I raised my eyes from her hand to her face. There was no way for me to read her far-away expression. “Odo,” she whispered.

“Auntie?” I asked nervously. Abruptly, we had moved from my area of expertise to hers. She closed her eyes for a terrifying moment, and then she opened them again.

“Molly, I am not sure what you brought me, but thank you.” She smiled, suddenly my familiar Auntie Nerys again. “Let’s take you back to Dr. Bashir.”

~

Bashir was back in his own quarters by the time we returned, but Auntie Nerys asked him to come with her to look at something. I knew it had to be about the changeling sample and I desperately wanted to follow, but I forced myself to focus on other things. This was not about me. I actually got the feeling it wasn’t even about her. It was somehow about Odo, although he had been gone for years.

Much of the rest of my allotted three days on Deep Space Nine was spent relaxing and truly vacationing. After all, I was going to be on Vulcan for a long time. I spent time visiting people who knew me when I was young. I spent some time making new friends with aliens from all over the Quadrant, and even some from the Gamma Quadrant. I spent some time in a holosuite with an amazing program. And I still spent some time discussing with Dr. Bashir what he knew about Changelings’ genetics. After all, he had gotten to spend a lot more intimate time studying Changeling biology than anyone else in the Alpha Quadrant.

I learned a few things from him. Overall, I was very glad for my trip. I left with goodbyes from many people on the station, including Auntie Nerys. She wasn’t angry with me anymore, though I couldn’t pry out of her what she thought she had experienced with that Changeling sample. I left off writing to Starfleet to let them know what happened. I would get around to it eventually.

It actually wasn’t until weeks after I had settled in at the Vulcan Science Academy that I got a message from Auntie Nerys saying that she was pregnant. It was quite late in life for a Bajoran her age to get that special news, but she mentioned her gratitude for a particular gift I had brought her. Only I hadn’t brought any gift with me when I visited. Just a sample that I never had intended to lose.

Unfortunately, we still don’t know (as a conglomerate) how the Changelings reproduce. It has something to with triggering the RNA in an existing sample to develop a certain way, but it still needs to be fertilized somehow. Perhaps by joining with the egg of another species. Someone familiar to the Changeling that the sample originally came from? Perhaps not. It’s only speculation, so I won’t mention anything to anyone. Not unless Auntie Nerys wants to make it public who fathered her child.

**Author's Note:**

> I chose Molly because she just made most sense to me, as an instrument to portray the story I wanted. I always liked the cute little girl, who played Molly in the show, but this story was really about Major Kira. I wanted to build my own version of closure for her after Odo left to go rejoin the Great Link. I hope you guys enjoyed it! Comment all you want with your own opinions and ideas. :)


End file.
